Five thoughts heading into game week
It's finally game week in Evanston.
As the Wildcats continue to prepare for their Week 0 game in the Aer Lingus Classic against Nebraska in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday, here are five things on our mind.
****
MORE ON NU FALL CAMP: Andrew Clair, 'the ultimate teammate', named captain l Hull and Porter looking to form 1-2 punch in backfield l Five things we learned at NU practice l O'Neil looks to turn defense around in second season
****
Is the QB battle over? It’s been the question of the summer: who will be the starting quarterback for Northwestern?
We may finally have an answer, less than a week before the Wildcats kick off against Nebraska in Dublin.
Based on some of the replies to quarterback Ryan Hilinski’s Instagram post on Sunday, it looks like No. 3 might be the one jogging onto the field with the first offense at Aviva Stadium.
Hilinski’s post merely stated, “Through it all, still standing tall… #sameteam (handshake emoji)”. That didn’t tell us too much. Several players responded with words of encouragement that hinted the job might be his.
But one player in particular flatly stated, “QB1!!” and then deleted his comment a short while later. (We won’t call out the player by name, but the deletion speaks volumes about the likelihood that Hilinski will be the guy.)
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald will have an opportunity to officially end the suspense around noon on Monday, when he meets the media for his Week 0 press conference. Whether he names the starter or not is anyone’s guess.
The pressure is on Nebraska: We think the pressure in this game will be squarely on the shoulders of the guys wearing red.
Despite a dismal 3-9 record last season, expectations are high for the Huskers. Some media outlets pick them to win the Big Ten West. Their over/under for number of wins this season is 7.5 (Northwestern’s is 4). Nebraska is a 13-point favorite on Saturday.
In the bigger picture, there’s even more at stake. Head coach Scott Frost is coaching for his job this season. His seat is on top of a volcano after going 15-29 (10-25 Big Ten) and failing to get the Huskers to a bowl game in four seasons.
To save his job, he brought in this season a new offensive coordinator in Mark Whipple from Pitt, four other new assistants coaches, a new quarterback in transfer Casey Thompson from Texas, and 32 other new scholarship players. That’s a lot to assimilate for a season opener.
If Northwestern can keep it close going into the fourth quarter, Nebraska could tighten up and get that “here-we-go-again” feeling: eight of their nine losses last season were by one score.
NU’s defense will be better: There’s little doubt that Northwestern’s defense will be better than the porous unit they fielded in 2021. The question is, how much better?
The Wildcats struggled with defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil’s new system last season, finishing 119th in the country against the run. They also gave up explosion plays left and right and allowed 29 points per game, the program’s most since 2010.
Ironically, the low point for the D was last year’s humiliating 56-7 loss to Nebraska. The Huskers racked up 427 rushing yards and had five explosion plays of 25 or more yards — by halftime, when their lead was 35-7.
Northwestern’s staff addressed their deficiencies in the offseason. To help improve against the run, they brought in five new front-seven players from the transfer portal: tackles Ryan Johnson, Taishan Holmes and Henrik Barndt; end Jaylen Pate; and linebacker Wendell Davis Jr. They also hired Ryan Smith to coach cornerbacks.
In addition to the new personnel, it’s the unit’s second year in O’Neil’s system. By all accounts, players are much more comfortable in camp. Theoretically, we shouldn’t see as many missed gap assignments or big plays against them.
So, we believe the Cats will be better defensively. It remains to be seen if that will be good enough to get the Cats on the right side of .500.
Look for the Cats to pound the ball: Northwestern’s game plan will be simple on Saturday: run the ball down the Huskers’ throats.
No matter who is at quarterback, don’t expect the Cats to adopt the Air Raid. Hilinski’s play at quarterback in 2021 was uneven, and he often looked more like a game manager than a playmaker. Northwestern also doesn’t have a lot of speed on the outside to bust big plays.
No, the strength of this team lies in the backfield. The Wildcats have two outstanding backs in Cameron Porter and Evan Hull. They have both proven they can be workhorses. We will likely see more two-back sets to get both of their best weapons on the field at the same time.
The Cats also return four starters on the offensive line. They have the player who many draft experts think is the best left tackle in college football in Peter Skoronski, and sixth-year senior Ethan Wiederkehr is back at right tackle.
The interior offensive line was where the problems were last season, but center Charlie Schmidt and guards Josh Priebe and Conrad Rowley all have another year under their belts. Vince Picozzi, a transfer from Temple and Colorado State, is in his seventh year of playing college ball and could also be in the mix.
Hilinski may not be dynamic, but if he can hand the ball off and get five yards a pop, he won’t have to be. There’s no better friend to a quarterback than a strong running game.
The Cats and the points may be the smart play: Thirteen points seems like a big number for a series that has been very tight historically — with last season being the obvious exception.
Since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011, they have won six games and Northwestern has won five. Of the Huskers six wins, only two have been by 13 or more points (2014 and 2021). Eight of the 11 games have been decided by a single score.
Frost said last year that they threw some things at the Cats that they hadn’t shown before, and it caught them off guard. The Wildcats were reeling after the Huskers blitzed them for 21 points in the first 11 minutes, and they never recovered.
So Northwestern has a score to settle. They got humiliated in Lincoln, and no matter what Fitzgerald says, that feeling is going to be on the players’ minds on Saturday.